Death and Life
by Melpomene Rose
Summary: When Heero is the victim of a bombing while searching for Zechs' long lost sister, he meets a young paramedic who steals his heart as well as healing his wounds...1xR


_Dvorak-New World Symphony_

**Hi minna! Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long, I've been really sick lately and have been plagued with the dread writer's block. This one is kind of an experiment in the lovely world of AU...and I think it's pretty okay. Please tell me what you think, reviews make my world go 'round.**

**All Standard Disclaimers Apply (ASDA)**

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His ears still rang from the blast; the singing of it drowning out sounds of the chaos that surrounded him. At that point, the only thing that registered with his stunned conscious was the choking smoke and the pain of his broken bones. Fighting the desperate urge to slip deeper into the soothing darkness, he cautiously opened an eye and was greeted by the sight of worried violet eyes.

Someone was shaking him gently, as if to get his attention. He opened the other eye. She was shouting something and he caught a glimpse of slender hands encased in latex gloves. He grunted softly, feeling the brief bite of a needle sliding into the tanned flesh of his left arm. He felt a whisper touch on his forehead as a stray lock of her golden hair fell over her slender shoulder.

"Sir! Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?" his mind sluggish, he realized that the ringing in his ears was beginning to subside. He glanced around, twisting his head slightly. Gentle hands slid around his temples, stopping the movement and holding his head firmly in place.

"Sir, we need you to stay as still as possible until we get this collar around your neck. You may have a spinal injury, but we don't know for sure until we get you to the hospital." Another voice, deeper in tone with a slight touch of an American accent.

"We're going to strap you to a backboard now, if you start to feel uncomfortable just let me know, all right?" The woman's voice again, sweet and soothing. _You can strap me to anything, just keep talking to me_...he thought dazedly as they slid the backboard under him, a

Carefully, both pairs of gloved hands maneuvered a cervical collar around his neck. His body felt on fire, every nerve ending crackling. He was in agony. He winced, the action pulling open the lacerations on his face.

"Duo, can you go back to the rig and let the ER know that we've got a trauma red on the way? And don't forget to bring the damn gurney back with you! I'll get his vitals and info..." The beauty of her voice faded out for a brief moment, and darkness clouded his vision.

"Sir, I need you to stay with me, okay? Can you give me your name? We couldn't find any identification when we found you."

"H...Heero...Yuy," his voice sounded weak to his own ears, his throat clogged with dust and smoke.

"Hi, Heero. My name's Relena and I'm a paramedic, you're going to be just fine." She leaned over to look him in the eyes and he got his first good look at the woman. Her creamy ivory skin was sweaty and smudged with soot but her intelligent violet eyes drew him in. He let his eyes wander around her form; her navy blue uniform shirt had turned almost gray from the dust and debris. Her thick honey blonde hair was tied behind her head in a low ponytail; the hair framing her face had come loose from its confines and hung limply over her shoulder. She looked exhausted, drained, and pushed to her limit; but to Heero she looked like an angel.

"Oi! 'Jousan! I've got the gurney, let's load up and ship out! The ER's waiting for us, especially Hilde." The man returned with the gurney outside Heero's narrow line of vision, the sound of its wheels echoing in his aching head. He winced, but caught himself and attempted to smooth his features into an expression of detachment. The young man on the backboard looked unconcerned, but he bit into the tender flesh of the inside of his lower lip in an attempt to quell the waves of pain washing over him. He closed his eyes and tried to meditate.

It was working, too...Until his backboard was hoisted from the scorched carpet and into the air. The unexpected movement jarred his broken bones and he let out a low moan. _This is worse than those times I self-destructed! _

"Hang in there, Heero; we're almost to the rig, and then we can get you set up with some morphine," her voice was soothing and he relaxed imperceptibly. Time seemed to bend, and the next he knew he was staring up at the ceiling of the ambulance. The female paramedic, Relena, was leaning over him, her latex encased hands pressing a large square of gauze down onto the deep shrapnel wound in his right shoulder. He winced, Prussian blue eyes closing out the bright light of the ambulance. A sharp pain in the crook of his left elbow brought him back to reality and he glanced in the direction. The other paramedic (Duo?) was busy drawing blood from the freshly inserted IV needle.

"Heero, can you tell me how old you are and today's date?" He asked, deftly attaching a bag of clear liquid to the IV needle embedded in his arm.

"24; 12 February, AC 204..." Heero grunted as the man with the ridiculous hair began to manipulate his right leg into an air splint. The pain caused his vision to swim and blacken, and his vision faded into darkness.

When he next opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the fluorescent light of the ambulance's ceiling. It was painted a 'soothing' light green, the same color found in almost every hospital room he had ever been in. His hand felt warm, he glanced down and saw it encased in the latex-clad hand of the female paramedic. He wracked his brain for her name...Relena, wasn't it?

He groaned softly, the pain returning with consciousness. It was all Zechs's fault, if he hadn't been there looking for any records on the older man's long lost sister he wouldn't have gotten blown up.

"Hang in there, Heero. We're almost to the hospital, you've been in an explosion and the police will be there to question you. So there'll be a lot of people and it'll be pretty hectic," she said, her violet eyes strangely familiar. The warmth left his hand; Relena swiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her exposed wrist. "We were so lucky to find you, you were under a big piece of wall; it took the rescue team almost an hour to extricate you!"

Heero found that he missed the feeling of his hand in hers. He felt strangely disconnected..._It must be the morphine..._he thought distractedly. The ambulance hit a bump, jarring his broken bones and he winced.

"Watch what you're doing, baka!" Relena shouted to the front of the ambulance, where Duo was driving.

"I'm doing my best, 'Jousan! Chill out, we're almost there," Duo shouted back, his voice almost drowned out by the siren.

"Now, when we get to the hospital there's going to be a lot of stuff going on, you need to stay calm and try to answer their questions, they're just trying to help you out," Relena began, her sweet voice filling his ears as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The siren drowned out the rest of her speech as the vehicle came to an abrupt stop. Bright light filled the ambulance as the back doors were flung open; a grinning Duo clambered into it and crouched next to the paramedic called Relena.

"Time to get you outta here, buddy," he said as they pushed the gurney down the rails to the edge of the ambulance. "This'll hurt a bit, so hold on!"

The legs of the gurney extended with a **thump** that jarred Heero, he winced again, the lacerations and dried blood on his face pulling in an uncomfortable manner. Heero directed his eyes forward, staring above into the sky and looking at Relena. The sky gave way to a ceiling of acoustic tile...he had arrived at the ER.

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